Kerala High Court refuses to quash Lok Ayukta proceedings against former health minister KK Shailaja

The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to quash the proceedings initiated by Lok Ayukta against former State Health Minister K Shailaja on a complaint alleging corruption in the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits during the Covid pandemic [Rajan N Khobragrade IAS v Veena S Nair]..A division bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P dismissed the plea against the proceeding challenging the jurisdiction of Lok Ayukta to hear the said complaint.“It is equally important to note that Section 9(5) of the Act, 1999 empowers the Lok Ayukta to refuse investigation or to discontinue with the investigation of any complaint involving a grievance or an allegation, if in his opinion, the complaint is frivolous or vexatious or is not made in good faith; that there are no sufficient grounds for investigating or; as the case may be, for continuing the investigation, or; other remedies are available to the complainant and in the circumstances of the case it would be more proper for the complainant to avail of such remedies," the Court observed..The Court was considering a petition challenging an order of Lok Ayukta, issuing notice to the officials of Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd. (KMSCL) and the State government, including KK Shailaja, on receiving a complaint alleging corruption in the purchase of PPE kits during the covid-19 pandemic.This complaint was filed before the Lok Ayukta by one Veena S Nair who is an advocate and a Congress leader from Thiruvananthapuram.The petitioners in the present case included officials of KMSCL and the State government.The petitioners contended that the Lok Ayukta doesn’t have jurisdiction to deal with the said complaint as it comes under the Disaster Management Act 2005.The Court on careful examination of the provisions of the Lok Ayukta Act,199 and the Disaster Management Act 2005, ruled that the Lok Ayukta court has jurisdiction to move forward with the said complaint and therefore, dismissed the plea.“Therefore, the provisions discussed above would exemplify that the Lok Ayukta is having sufficient discretion and mechanism to identify as to whether the complaint is frivolous, and refuse to investigate or discontinue with the investigation,“ the order said..[Read Judgment]